Cytological Training at European Standard through Telepathology Erasmus Project

Project Title

Cytological Training at European Standard through Telepathology

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Health and wellbeing; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Open and distance learning

Project Summary

Cy-TEST (cytest.crs4.it) focuses on the area of Cytology, intended for the screening and diagnoses of Cancers of different organs. Cytological tests are performed in number of millions/year in Europe, with an objective need of standardizing quality levels. The necessary training of the professionals involved (Cytotechs, Cytoscreeners, Biologists, Pathologists) in the different European nations is based on Courses and Masters at University level, which employ texts, fixed images of reference patterns and sessions at microscopes, in order to guarantee a reproducible recognition of structural features typical of malignant/cancer cells.
Diplomas of Competence in Cytology are released by single European Nations, but a single European Accreditation Test, certifying a diagnostic ability at a standardized level would no doubt be the preferred option. In order to meet these requirement, the European Federation of Cytological Societies (EFCS) established QUATE (Quality Assurance, Training and Examination) Aptitude Test but the complexity of its organization make this test practiced by a relatively low number of applicants (approximately 50 per year).

The Cy-TEST System delivers both a training course accomplishing the needed criteria to successfully afford the QUATE test and allows the generation of the e-QUATE, the electronic version of the QUATE test, thus reaching a more popular, cheaper and efficient impact.

The Cy-TEST Project is based on the exploitation of the Virtual Slide (VS) technology permitting a telematic transfer and navigation of scanned images of reference cytological slides. Images are stored at very high resolutions and can be viewed via Internet with proper Virtual Microscope software (Omero). These images are used –with specific tools-to realize highly interactive self-assessment exercises that will improve the competence of cytotechnologists. For example exercises show “Region of Interest” of cells in an image, or ask to search for particular “clues” that can lead to diagnoses. The user can really “interact” with the slide. The Cy-TEST system is an open access (with free registration) e-learning platform developed upon the existing open source system Moodle.

CY-TEST is organized in n. 18 categories split within CERVICO-VAGINAL CITOLOGY (Liquid Based Cytology, Smear) and EXTRA-VAGINAL CITOLOGY (Search courses: Breast, Effusions, Liver, Lung, Lymph-nodes, Salivary glands, Thyroid, Paediatrics: Soft Tissue Tumours – Liver Tumours – Head & Neck Tumours – Genitourinary Tumours – Endocrine Pathology – Bone Tumours – Renal Tumours, Pancreas).

N. 1608 interactive exercises have been developed, based on n. 1000 images/cases collected, managed and stored in a dedicated repository, wherefrom interactive training Courses are available and Internet-based QUATE (e-QUATE) sessions can be set up on request.

The system has been localized in 8 languages (English, Czech, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Rumanian). At September 2017 n. 635 users from 142 countries are registered in CY-TEST.

The project started with the definition of the requirements for the system, the identification of suitable training methodologies and the organisation of the training contents answering to QUATE criteria and target user needs. All partners contributed to the collection of images and cases and to the development of interactive exercises. After the release of the preliminary versions of the system and of the training cases, different assessment cycles (development-assessment-refinement) have been performed in order to monitor usability and reliability: exercises have been assessed by an Internal evaluator and by an external one individuated within well-known experts of the subject in Europe; the system usability has been instead assessed in different steps by European “real-users” (318 between cytologists, cyto-technicians, residents in Pathology) both during the organized five International Cy-TEST workshops (Graz, Padua, Porto, London, Turin) then on line.

Long term impact (only focusing on the primary targets) are estimated from 12 to 15 thousands people that is the population of Cytologists working in Pathology laboratories in Europe.

The Cy-TEST consortium is composed of 6 organizations (4 universities, and 2 no profit institutions) all strictly directly active or connected to the cytology world and with a strong commitment for delivering higher education enhancing cytologists quality levels, also participating to EFCS, to European Society of Pathology, to Eurocytology and to TASTE Projects: COREP and UNIVERSITY OF TURIN and UNIVERSITY OF PADUA (Italy), IPATIMUP (Portugal), EFCS (Belgium), ICNHS-Imperial College (United Kingdom).

Cy-TEST will be an integral part of EFCS activities with its 28 National Societies to guarantee its sustainability, and represents a move towards a technically-based improvement of quality level assurance, which is what European patients request.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 444582 Eur

Project Coordinator

CONSORZIO PER LA RICERCA E L EDUCAZIONE PERMANENTE TORINO & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TORINO
• MEDIZINISCHE UNIVERSITAT GRAZ
• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA
• IPATIMUP – INSTITUTO DE PATOLOGIA E IMUNOLOGIA MOLECULAR DA UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO PCUP
• EFCS